Mango Airlines To Shut Down In South Africa As Rescue Efforts Collapse

Mango Airlines’ last chance at survival has ended after its prospective buyer, Ubuntu Air Services, withdrew from a proposed acquisition. The withdrawal followed a Johannesburg High Court ruling in June 2025, which declared the airline’s business rescue plan invalid and unenforceable.

Business rescue practitioner (BRP) Sipho Sono confirmed that he has now recommended a structured wind-down of the airline instead of an immediate liquidation.

“I had initially planned to challenge the ruling as I believed it was appealable on several grounds,” he said. However, without an investor, Sono acknowledged that relaunching Mango is no longer realistic.

Creditors Face Limited Payout Options

The collapse of the deal stemmed from opposition by Aviation Co-ordination Services (ACS), one of Mango’s key creditors.

While most creditors supported the rescue plan, ACS argued it was unfair. Under the plan, creditors would have received only 4.43 cents in the rand. For ACS, that meant just R1.03 million out of the R23.3 million owed.

Judge Denise Fisher ruled that the plan unlawfully forced creditors to cede their book debts without compensation, describing it as a transfer of claims to Ubuntu Air Services “for no value.” This ruling blocked Mango’s return to the skies.

Sono’s new proposal offers creditors up to 12.18 cents in the rand through a structured wind-down — far higher than the 2.68 cents they would recover in liquidation. However, Mango will not resume operations regardless of the outcome.

No Return for Mango Airlines in South Africa’s Skies

Despite Sono’s insistence that Mango was once a viable airline, experts doubt its revival was ever realistic.

Aviation analyst Linden Birns noted: “There are no aircraft, no personnel, no routes or licences, and no infrastructure for ticketing sales and distribution, revenue management, operations and maintenance.”

Birns added that if Ubuntu had taken over, Mango would not have returned as a scheduled airline. Instead, it would have operated as a charter service under Africa Stay, offering no relief to South Africa’s sky-high flight prices.

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Currently, Mango holds R382.57 million in cash but owes nearly R3 billion, including unflown tickets. With no future operations planned, Sono’s recommendation signals the end of the low-cost carrier that once played a key role in South Africa’s domestic aviation market.

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